Tourist Views of La Crosse, ca. 1892

Souvenir of La Crosse, Wis., ca. 1892

This small folding booklet contains 49 two-tone lithographic views of public buildings, churches, residences, business establishments, stores, and the riverfront, as well as a short business directory. It was intended for tourists and other travellers on the Mississippi River who might stop at La Crosse. Its publisher, Alexander Simplot (1837-1914), had made his reputation illustrating Civil War battle scenes for Harpers Weekly three decades earlier; he resided at Dubuque and issued similar booklets about other Mississippi River towns in the 1890s. A collection of his original sketches and other works is available at Wisconsin Historical Images.